Rebirth of Hong Kong Island, leading the technology war

Chapter 557 The Europeans' Minds Are Hard to Guess
Li Ziji sized up Hu Wenxin a few times and said, "Chairman Hu, I heard that your son Ashan's business is doing quite well recently. A rocket launch project is about to start at the Tenglong Island Space Launch Site, is that right?"

Hu Wenxin nodded: "Yes, even Chairman Li has heard about it. That's a real honor. Ah Shan will be so proud of himself when he finds out."

Li Ziji waved his hand: "Chairman Hu, I'm not the only one who's heard about this. It's a minority of people who haven't heard about it."

Guo Pingjiang said with a smile, "Yes, people around me often mention going to Tenglong Island to watch the rocket launch, which means a lot of people know about it. By the way, the resort on Tenglong Island is also in high demand now. If I had time, I would definitely ask President Hu to arrange a few rooms for me and my family to stay for a few days and experience the beautiful scenery of Tenglong Island."

Hu Wenxin laughed and said, "Isn't that simple? Just let me know whenever you want to stay, and I'll ask Ashan to book rooms for you. I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"

Everyone exchanged smiles, enjoying a harmonious atmosphere.

In truth, everyone knows that these polite words are just for the sake of talking.

Saying a few casual words like that doesn't make the atmosphere awkward; it's quite effective.

At this moment, Li Ziji said again, "By the way, I don't know much about aerospace technology, and I don't know what the success rate of rocket launches is. Lao Guo, do you know?"

Guo Pingjiang thought for a moment and replied, "To be honest, I know a little about it. I have a friend who works at the US space agency. I heard that the requirements for rocket launches are very high now because the electromagnetic environment is more complex and there is too much space debris. In the last ten years, the success rate of rocket launches has dropped significantly. It's considered good if it reaches 80%."

Li Ziji's expression changed: "Oh my, an 80% success rate? I really didn't expect that. This is the space agency of the United States. They have the best space technology on Earth, and they still have such a low success rate. If it were an ordinary civilian space launch, wouldn't the success rate be even lower?"

"Naturally, it will be lower. Civilian aerospace technology is definitely not as sophisticated as official technology, and that is the official aerospace agency of the United States, whose technology is the most advanced on the entire planet. So, we can't be too optimistic about this."

As they spoke, Guo Pingjiang and Li Ziji exchanged a meaningful glance and smiled knowingly.

The two looked at Hu Wenxin again, but the latter remained noncommittal.

Hu Wenxin knew exactly what these two guys meant; they simply thought that Hu Jiangshan's rocket launch project had a low success rate and a high probability of failure.

To put it more bluntly, it's to warn Hu Wenxin not to be too happy too soon, lest the higher she climbs, the harder she falls.

If you think they meant well, you're being naive; they're just trying to discourage people.

During this period, Hu Wenxin was indeed radiant and full of energy.

The main reason is that Hezhong Group has been developing well in the past year.

The recent investments of Hezhong Group in several technology projects are substantial and of high quality, with some projects already showing profitability.

This is an achievement that Hezhong Group had never had in the previous few years.

This indicates that Hezhong Group has turned its fortunes around, emerged from its trough, and begun to recover.

The recovery is not slow at all; in fact, it can be described as rapid. With the official launch of several projects in the future, development may accelerate even further.

Another reason that makes Hu Wenxin so happy is that her son, Hu Jiangshan, is becoming more and more respectable and successful.

Hu Jiangshan has indeed grown too fast, showing the demeanor of a great general. Although the Jiangshan Group he founded is not large in scale, it is very profitable.

Leaving aside the two important projects, the space launch site and the resort, even the Jiangshan Fish Farm has made considerable progress recently.

Seafood from Jiangshan Fishing Grounds is highly sought after due to its excellent quality.

Whether in Hong Kong Island or the mainland, there are distributors keeping an eye on it.

Even more outrageous, some seafood distributors on Hong Kong Island have already used Hu Wenxin's connections to try and pre-order seafood.

For Hu Wenxin's potential competitors, whether openly or covertly, seeing Hu Wenxin so radiant naturally made them unhappy.

Even close friends have the mentality of being afraid of their brother being poor, and even more afraid of their brother driving a Land Rover. What's more, these Hong Kong tycoons are not friends at all, but rivals.

People like Li Ziji and Guo Pingjiang had this kind of mentality. They originally thought the Hu family was insignificant, and therefore the Hezhong Group posed no threat.

It is believed that over time, the Hop Chung Group will gradually decline, fall into the abyss, and be eliminated from the Hong Kong business community.

Unexpectedly, Hezhong Group has now fallen into this state and is gaining momentum.

How could they not be upset when such a bizarre thing happened!

Of course, they could also say that this was just a last gasp for the Hezhong Group and the Hu family.

Normally speaking, the Hu family has already begun to decline, and no outstanding talents have emerged since Hu Wenxin, making it difficult for them to regain their former glory.

However, the variable lies with Hu Wenxin's only son, Hu Jiangshan.

Hu Jiangshan was originally a super spendthrift, and everyone was watching him make a fool of himself. But in the past year, he has undergone a complete 180-degree change.

Their recent outstanding performance has made them somewhat uneasy, especially since Li Changxi is now dealing with Hu Jiangshan's pressure very seriously and cautiously, and he doesn't go out to indulge in pleasure as much anymore.

Even Lee Ja-gil didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.

At this moment, Huo Jiangting sensed that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, so he took the initiative to change the subject.

"By the way, Mr. Li, Mr. Guo, you were very well prepared for this negotiation with Oulaim, weren't you?"

Li Ziji smiled slightly: "It can't be considered very thorough. Chairman Guo and I only learned a little about the situation before we came. We don't know much about the specifics of the situation on O'Leem's side. It is said that the methods of these Europeans are hard to fathom and they are very shrewd."

Guo Pingjiang nodded: "Yes, I've heard that the people of Oberlo do have a different way of handling things than those in Hong Kong and the mainland. They place great emphasis on official business."

Li Ziji said, "Let's handle this business strictly. It's easier to deal with the other side. Let's just let our strength speak for itself. There's no need to think of any underhanded tricks. Chairman Guo, do you think we have a slight advantage if we really talk about strength?"

Guo Pingjiang laughed: "We do have a slight advantage, but it shouldn't be too great."

At this point, Guo Pingjiang looked at Hu Wenxin and Huo Jiangting and said, "We are actually evenly matched, and it's really hard to say who will win."

Li Ziji joked, "Yes, we really can't be careless, but we still need to be careful not to hurt our feelings. We are just business rivals, not enemies."

"No need for that, you're overthinking it. We've been friends for decades. Even if the business deal falls through, it doesn't mean we'll fall out. Mr. Huo, Mr. Hu, don't you agree?"

Hu Wenxin remained silent, while Huo Jiangting said calmly, "Chairman Li and Chairman Guo are right. We can talk and joke as we please, but business matters should be settled in the business world. Whether we can reach an agreement depends on our abilities. In private, we can still be friends and won't hurt our relationship."

"now it's right."

At this moment, Li Ziji said to Guo Pingjiang, "By the way, Chairman Guo, I heard before that there is a senior executive in the Oulaim team. Do you know him?"

Guo Pingjiang laughed: "Yes, I know him. He's Mr. Carlos. I introduced him to you before. I have a junior colleague who is very close to him. We can invite him out later to have a good chat and find out more about the situation."

"Alright, alright, then we'll trouble Chairman Guo." Hu Wenxin and Guo Pingjiang exchanged a glance. Even a fool could see that Li Ziji and Guo Pingjiang were actually trying to put Hu and Huo in their place, to intimidate them, and to show off their strength.

Of course, at this point, the Hezhong Group and the Huo Group would not back down and would definitely have to participate in the negotiations.

However, the level of involvement can still be adjusted.

Both sides are offering conditions to the Oulaim Group, just like an auction. The better the conditions offered by the other side, the more they have to follow suit if they want to win the deal.

It all comes down to who has more confidence and can afford to lose more, but it also depends on the momentum of both sides.

Just then, another group of people walked into the reception room, including many blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners who were representatives of the O'Leem Group.

Most of these people were from Europe, but a few were British.

It is worth mentioning that Europeans generally do not consider the British to belong to them, which is quite a peculiar concept.

The person accompanying the O'Leem team as they walked this way, talking to them, was a Hong Kong government official, namely Fang Chenyang, or Fang Sir.

In addition, Yao Hong, who had interacted with Hu Jiangshan several times, was also in the team.

Yao Hong has performed exceptionally well at work, completing several very challenging tasks. As a result, she is now highly valued by the Hong Kong government and serves as Fang Chenyang's assistant, handling various tasks.

A moment later, Fang Chenyang met and exchanged pleasantries with Hu Wenxin, Huo Jiangting, Li Ziji, Guo Pingjiang, and others, and then invited everyone to sit down to discuss matters.

There's a reason why the Oulaim Group received such a grand reception from the Hong Kong government.

This is a very large investment group, which can be called a giant in the investment world.

This group does not belong to any single country, but is an investment company under the Europa Union, reporting directly to the Europa Commission and controlling a massive amount of funds.

In other words, the Oulem Group represents the face of investment in Europe.

If the Hong Kong government can reach a cooperation agreement with this group and successfully implement the project, then Hong Kong Island will have established an important connection with the investment community in Europe.

Then, future cooperation between Hong Kong Island and Europe will be a natural and inevitable outcome.

After all, Hong Kong Island is known as one of the world's financial centers, second only to Newark in the United States and London in Britain.

At this time, Hong Kong Island also faced a powerful challenger, namely Singapore.

Singapore is quite ambitious and aggressive, aiming to surpass Hong Kong in the financial sector and replace it as the third largest financial center.

Singapore is no joke; they've invested a lot of resources, and they've indeed achieved considerable success, narrowing the gap with Hong Kong in the financial sector.
The pressure on Hong Kong Island is immense, which is why the Hong Kong government is doing everything it can to retain the Oulaim Group and ensure the project is located on Hong Kong Island, lest Singapore snatch it away, which would be disastrous for them.

The team leader from the O'Lemm Group is named Anne Donard, a woman in her forties.

In Europe today, both in government and business, there is a common feature: a large proportion of managers are women. There are even female presidents, female prime ministers, and even the Speaker of the European Parliament is a woman.

I don't know why this is happening; it's just very strange.

For example, nearly half of the O'Lem team are now women, both young and old.

However, these women were not involved in technical matters; they were only responsible for making polite remarks, exchanging pleasantries, and handling liaison and communication. The real professionals were almost all men, which is what the West calls technical positions.

This was the first round of negotiations, and no one seemed particularly enthusiastic, since it was impossible to reach a conclusion at this point.

The current situation is that there are two parties competing with the O'Leem Group for cooperation on Hong Kong Island. One is the Hop Chung Group and the Fok family, and the other is the Cheung Ho Group and the Songming Group.

O'Leem needs to speak with both parties separately to determine who to partner with.

At least that's what Anne said.

The group chatted for a while, then rested.

With a little decoration, this reception room can be transformed into a banquet hall and a place for banquets.

It takes a lot of thought to entertain these European guests, otherwise they won't feel the sincerity from our side.

Hu Wenxin and Huo Jiangting chatted privately while holding wine glasses, keeping an eye on Li Changji and Guo Pingjiang's movements.

These two are very shrewd and have many connections. They have already started talking to Anne of Orom through Mr. Carlos, whom Guo Pingjiang knows.

Looking at them now, they seem to be having a lively conversation, frequently clinking glasses and smiling broadly. I wonder what they've come up with.

Huo Jiangting said in a low voice, "Chairman Hu, what do you think they're talking about?"

Hu Wenxin said casually, "It'll probably just be some casual conversation. They won't talk about work in this kind of setting; Europa would find it offensive."

Huo Jiangting nodded in agreement.

Europeans consider themselves nobles and never discuss work during leisure time or social occasions, finding it a downer.

Huo Jiangting said, "No matter what, we are still at a disadvantage."

"Yes, we have to acknowledge the gap, but it's not like we have no chance of winning."

"Do your best and obey fate."

Just then, Fang Chenyang walked over.

The two quickly went up to greet Fang Chenyang, pulled him over for a few drinks, and tried to find out more about the inside story.

Fang Chenyang sighed: "Chairman Hu, Chairman Huo, this is going to be difficult."

Hu Wenxin was stunned: "What? Does the Oulaim Group prefer to cooperate with Changhe and Songming Group?"

Fang Chenyang shook his head: "It's even more serious than that. In addition to negotiating cooperation with companies in Hong Kong, they are also negotiating with companies in Singapore."

Hu Wenxin and Huo Jiangting's expressions changed.

I didn't expect Singapore to get involved so quickly, this is really bad!

(End of this chapter)